Naam

1

"Name?"

"Khushi Bajaj," the girl told the registrar who was asking.

"Welcome back, Ms. Bajaj. Here's your class schedule. You may walk your schedule to get a feel of your route. Do you need anything else?"

"No, thank you," Khushi took her schedule and left the desk.

"So? Is dafa kitna burden liya hai?" Her brother teased.

"Krishy! Don't be stupid," Khushi scolded. "Main jaldi finish kar loon gi to jaldi papa ki help kar sakti hoon!"

"Kis ne kaha aap baba ki help karo gi? Pehle main karoon ga!" Krish retorted.

Annoyed, Khushi pushed her little brother, and he went knocking into another student.

"Ae! Baap ka school hai kya jo saari jaga li hui hai?!" The student yelled at Krish.

"Ae!" Khushi pulled Krish behind her. "Tum kon hote ho mere bhai pe chillane wale?!"

Krish tried to reach out to stop his sister from creating a scene. "Kukki di..."

"The amount my father donates to this college, he might as well own it."

"Toh kuch paise manners class pe laga deta tumhare liye, spoiled girl!"

"Manners!?" Kukki yelled. "Kisko badtameez keh rahe ho!? I wasn't the one who yelled at a kid!"

The boy laughed. "Baccha!? Konsa baccha?"

"Di, chalo na! Baba's waiting," Krish finally dragged Kukki away.

"Haan, haan! Jao baba ke paas!" The boy said.

Kukki turned around and punched the guy in the face. That brought the staff running around them.

"Ms. Bajaj! What is this behavior? Aap dono office mein aiye!"

Krish groaned as he followed his sister to the office. "Abh to phasse."

The dean sat them across his desk and picked up the phone, apparently calling Mr. Bajaj. Rishabh was outside already, taking a business call, so he didn't take too long to arrive.

"Mr. Bajaj, please come in," Dean Patil invited him to sit across.

Rishabh passed a glance towards the kids who were sitting on the side. He grabbed the chair across the desk and sat down.

"Ji, Mr. Patil. What happened?"

"Tell your father, Ms. K..."

"Main ne aap se pucha," Rishabh redirected him.

The Dean looked shocked, then cleared his throat. "Ms. Khushi punched Mr. Aditya square in his face in the middle of the hallway. We don't tolerate abuse in our school, Mr. Bajaj."

Rishabh looked at Kukki and she scowled at him. He looked at Krish and the kid looked away. Rishabh then turned to the other boy.

"I'm sorry my daughter hit you. I've raised her better than this. She won't behave like this the rest of the year. Do you need ice for your nose?"

"No, sir," Aditya shook his head.

"Then we're good," Rishabh extended his hand and shook Aditya's hand. "Anything else, Mr. Patil."

"No. Just make sure it doesn't happen again, kids," the dean warned.

Rishabh scowled when the dean repeated what he had just said. He was walking to the desk when Krish stood up.

"Baba, I want coffee, na. Let's go," Krish pleaded.

Rishabh smiled at his son and took his kids out of the room. They walked silently to the car. Kukki got in the front passenger seat and slammed the door closed. Rishabh drove out of the school grounds and found the nearest public parking to pull in to.

"Abh batayein kya hua?" Rishabh asked.

"Ghalti uski thi aur aapne mujhe daanta!"

"When did I yell at her, Krish?"

"Lekin you took his side, na? You didn't even know why I punched him and you apologized," Kukki frowned.

"Toh abh puch raha hoon. Bata do," Rishabh said.

"He yelled at Krishy," Kukki told him.

Rishabh turned in his seat to look at Krish. "And why did he yell at you, Krish?"

"Sari fault meri hai, baba. Main di ko tease kar raha tha. She got fed up with me and pushed me and I tripped into Aditya. Sorry, di."

"So, it's all an accident. Koi baat nahi. Chalo, who wants coffee?" He put the car in drive.

The car was silent as Krish was playing on his phone and Kukki was looking out the window. They went through a drive through and ordered their usual before going home.

At home, Rishabh sent Krish in with the food while he waited for Kukki to get her things from the back. Kukki closed the trunk and was walking toward the house when Rishabh got in her way.

"I'm proud of you."

Kukki looked at him shocked. Rishabh smiled.

"Violence acchi baat nahi hoti, Kukki. But you stood up for your little brother. And I expect nothing less from you," he leaned in and kissed her head. "My good girl."

Kukki smiled as Rishabh took her bags and they finally walked inside.

"Pari Ma ko batane ki zaroorat nahi hai."

"Okay," Kukki agreed.

"Kukki, welcome back!" Prerna greeted them at the door. "Kaisi thi orientation?"

"Eventful! How was your day?"

"Eventful!" Prerna cheekily replied back. "Arsh! Pari! Baba's home!"

Two kids, a boy and a girl, came running out of Kukki's old bedroom.

"Baba!" Pari cried out.

Rishabh squatted to receive his children. He picked them both up in his arms. "Good evening, Pari. Arsh. How was your day?"

"Good!" Arsh replied quickly. "Aap hamare liye kuch lae hain?"

"Nahi to!" Kukki teased. "Papa ne sirf hum dono ko leke di hain!" She pointed at herself and Krish.

The twins whined and complained. Rishabh laughed and let them down. "Kukki di. Don't tease them. Jao, show them what we got."

Kukki nodded and grabbed her little brother by the shoulders as she led them to the kitchen, ruffling his hair. Krish lifted his younger sister onto his back and followed them.

"Aur mere liye kya lae hai?" Prerna asked as she wrapped her arms around her husband.

"Sabh kuch toh de diya. What is left?" Rishabh hugged her back.

"Hmm... kiss toh de hi sakte hain."

Rishabh smiled. "Always."